"Incredible, Indubitable, Interminable Items To Startle Your Senses And Soothe Your Soul!"This is a news and information page created by Michael Singer. I've always been a fan of Stan Lee and his gang.
Consider this your friendly neighborhood place on the Web. 'Nuff said!"

December 05, 2012

A new method for layering magnetic components atop CMOS wafers is showing promise for improved power management in life sciences devices, integrated navigation systems and portable consumer electronics.

Engineers at startup Puzzlebox say they've designed a mobile-controlled toy helicopter that can lift off, fly around, and land by using only brainwaves. And while the company is looking for to broadly launch the product in time for Christmas, devices that interface via electroencephalogram (EEG) are giving designers something to cheer about.

September 22, 2009

If the brain is a network of neurons
and the Internet is a network of nodes, can we develop the Internet to
be a brain? Well, evidence suggests the Internet is already a brain and
we're in the process of developing it into something larger and more
useful.

At least that's basic precept of a book I've been reading this past week, Wired for Thought,
written by Jeffrey Stibel, in which he discusses the implications of
the evolution of the Internet as a brain -- not as an evil overlord
that will one day replace humans, but as a sympathetic, predictive, and
well intentioned network designed around the concepts that we carry
around in our own brains.

July 05, 2009

Do you ever wish you could predict earthquakes? From the
massive Loma-Prieta quake of 1989 to the small temblors we feel, it's yet
another reminder of the unstable ground we live on. Thankfully, the technology
of predicting the next Big One has improved.

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and research
facilities around the globe are working around the clock to better alert
residents before a major quake occurs. Wireless sensors, satellite monitoring,
and instruments buried deep within the earth are all helping to monitor the
Earth's crust.

Time is not on their side, however. A study published
earlier this year suggests that it’s a 99 percent chance that California will
have one or more magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquakes over the next 30 years,
and the chance that a magnitude 7.5 or greater in the next 30 years has
increased to 4.6 percent. The Hayward Fault has special significance
considering the last major "event" was in 1868. October 21 marks its
141th anniversary.

"People should realize there is a possibility that they
won't be able to drive home from work or pick up their children from
school," said Jeanne Perkins from the Association of Bay Area Governments.
"A Hayward Fault earthquake could close 1,100 roads, including 900 in Alameda
County alone."

In addition, the Earthquake Hazards Program has continuous
near-real-time monitoring of earthquakes across the United States called the
Advanced National Seismic System, and across the world with the Global
Seismographic Network. Geodetic instruments measure the slower movements of the
earth's crust, while strainmeters, such as the ones on the San Andreas Fault
measure the accumulating strain.

July 04, 2009

Eden Medical Center is one step closer to converting its
patient health records into the digital age.

Todd Peterson, the hospital's vice president of information
technology, back in February revealed that Eden Hospital in Castro Valley would
primarily use electronic health records -- or EHR -- when it the new building
is completed in 2013.

"What does this mean?" Peterson said in the
hospital's blog. "Our physicians will get a full view of a patient's care
at any given time, from any location, once their patient has been admitted to
the hospital. So the patient's medical history as it relates to diagnostics,
drug therapy, procedures, diet, rehabilitation and notes generated by
physicians and nurses will all be available online."

The digitized health records would also be used and
available for visits to any Sutter Health-owned facility or physician office,
Peterson added.

"Every patient room, alcoves between rooms and nurses'
station will be furnished with a computer workstation so patient records can be
accessed throughout the hospital, he said. "Physicians will also have
wireless devices such as PC tablets to provide the most flexibility and
mobility throughout the hospital."

Down the road, patients are expected to be able to check
their own clinical results online, e-mail their doctors, arrange appointments,
and track their own health history.

But why make every doctor's scribble or blood pressure
readout available in digital form?

It is widely believed that the adoption and use of
interoperable, electronic health records will improve the quality, safety, and
efficiency of health care. Studies have shown that electronic health records
reduce medical errors, eliminate unnecessary and duplicative services (e.g. lab
tests, prescription medications), reduce insurance costs, and increase
patient's involvement in care.

President Obama has even made health technology including
EHRs and their private, secure exchange a centerpiece of his plan for health
reform. The current $787 billion economic stimulus package signed on Feb. 17
calls for as much as $3 billion to help jumpstart the process; making it a
commonplace practice in hospitals and clinics by 2014.

Given that timetable, Eden's and Sutter's plan to implement
EHRs could be ready a full year earlier, making it one of the first hospitals
in the area to convert wholly to digital format.

However, any EHR program comes with a whole set of concerns.
Privacy advocates and civil rights groups are anxious about Big Brother-style
consequences. Security experts have warned of data breaches similar to that of
T.J. Maxx's parent company, which exposed customer information to
cybercriminals.

And while there are no guarantees, Peterson said the
hospital is committed to patient safety and points to several practices to
prevent mistakes... using barcodes to match patients with their medications,
for example.

"The prospects for EHR are endless," Peterson
said. "Our patients and clinicians become real partners in the delivery of
care over the long term."

The hospital is welcoming feedback from the public on
electronic health records on its Web site.

June 18, 2009

There's a new bus making its way along E. 14th these days that uses a series of magnets and computer sensors to help it steer through busy city streets with barely a need for a driver.

Earlier this year, researchers with California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) program based at UC Berkeley demonstrated how a specially equipped 60-foot AC Transit bus could wind its way down a one-mile stretch of E. 14th in San Leandro in "auto-pilot mode." The driver had control over starting, stopping, and speeding the bus up, but the route itself was already mapped out.

Researchers put sensors under the bus to interact with magnets in the street placed a little more than a yard apart from each other. Computers inside the bus helped detect the pre-determined path and direct the wheels to move right or left. The goal is to make buses more efficient and predictable, researchers said. The magnets help position the buses to within a centimeter of its pre-determined destination. The technology could also help passengers board quicker, saving both fuel and time.

"We have seen increasing interest among transit agencies in this technology because of its potential to bring the efficiency of public bus service to a level approaching that of light rail systems, but at a much lower overall cost," Wei-Bin Zhang, PATH transit research program leader at UC Berkeley, said in a statement.

Scientists estimate the bus could read the road speeding along at 60 miles per hour at 88 feet per second making it suitable for traveling on freeways like I-880 and Bay Area bridges. And because the magnets help start and stop the bus on a dime, multiple busses could be added together during commute hours and follow closely behind the lead bus, creating a light rail train effect similar to how San Francisco Muni cars operate.

While the tests are only the first step, area transit officials are considering the specially-equipped busses as a cost saver. AC Transit estimates the auto-pilot bus system as a compliment its bus rapid transfer (BRT) project could cost $278 million. Officials are now looking at designating bus-only lanes along an 18-mile stretch from downtown Berkeley near the UC Berkeley campus south to San Leandro's Bay Fair BART station to see if such a bus system would be feasible. Santa Clara's Valley Transportation Agency also has its eye on the buses for its planned Santa Clara Alum Rock Transit Improvement Project at less than half the cost for a comparable light rail system.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) provided $320,000 to fund the demonstration. AC Transit said it is now working with the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund the next stage of the project.

June 17, 2009

In the future, newspapers could be just a flexible computer screen made out of thin plastic, if a prototype developed recently proves successful.

Scientists with computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard and Arizona State University's Flexible Display Center have come up with what they claim is an unbreakable active matrix computer screen that performs very similar to a laptop computer screen.

Mass production of such displays could make laptops, smart phones, and other electronic devices less expensive since the display is one of the more costly components.

While they are not commonly found in stores, flexible displays are being developed as an alternative to rigid glass screens. One such technology called organic LED (OLED) uses a film of organic chemicals about an inch thick, that when excited; turn an electronic signal into a viewable image.

The HP-Arizona State prototype is made up of a layering of computer chip materials and metals that can be rolled out like a paper towel, but uses 90% fewer materials and is less expensive to build than other flexible displays currently available.

"The display HP has created with the FDC proves the technology and demonstrates the remarkable innovation we're bringing to the rapidly growing display market," Carl Taussig, director of Information Surfaces at HP Labs, said in a statement. "In addition to providing a lower-cost process, [this] technology represents a more sustainable, environmentally sensitive approach to producing electronic displays."

To build a strong and functional flexible screen, scientists started with stacks of semiconductor materials and metals imposed onto a flexible plastic film called Teonex Polyethylene Naphthalate, which was made by DuPont Teijin. Then layers of electronic ink called bi-stable electrophoretic imaging film are imprinted through a special lithography process and arranged so that the images can be seen with very little electricity.

Researchers suggest that these flexible electronic displays can be used for a new generation of portable devices, including e-readers and similar products.

Industry analysts with one firm expects that as the cost to make flexible displays goes down the number of devices using them will grow from $80 million in 2007 to $2.8 billion by 2013.

Personally, I think it would be nifty to be able to read the latest news on a flexible display and then be able to check sports scores and weather without having to turn a page.